Karl Křitek

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Karl Kritek as Colonel General

Karl Křitek (born October 24, 1861 in Split , Croatia , † September 3, 1928 in Vienna ) was Colonel General of the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces during the First World War .

Life

Pre-war period

Karl Křitek was the son of Johann Victor Křitek (1830–1904), a kuk general manager . In Vienna he attended a grammar school, followed by the military college in St. Pölten . He then graduated from the renowned military high school in Mährisch Weißkirchen , which had produced several leading military officers in the past. From 1876 to 1879 Křitek attended the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt , which he left with great success. On August 18, 1879, he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the 52nd Infantry Regiment. He attended the kuk war school in Vienna from 1882 to 1884. After successfully completing this, he was assigned to the General Staff as a first lieutenant . As part of his duties in the General Staff, he served in the 40th Infantry Brigade, followed by the 13th Infantry Division in Banja Luka . On May 1, 1888 he was promoted to Captain I. Class, after which he served in the General Staff of the 12th Corps in Sibiu until 1891 . From April 1891 to May 1893 he served for the first time in the country description office of the General Staff and during that time he briefly completed service in the 49th Infantry Regiment. In 1894, Křitek was appointed major and assigned as Chief of Staff of the 8th Infantry Division in Innsbruck. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on May 1, 1897. From 1898 to 1900, he was once again serving in the troop service with the 85th Infantry Regiment. On November 1, 1900, he was promoted to colonel and was given the post of head of the country description office within the General Staff Corps. He was promoted to major general on November 1, 1906, after which he was promoted to commander of the 20th Infantry Brigade in Königgrätz . On November 1, 1910, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Field Marshal . In that year he also took over command of the 49th Infantry Division in Vienna, which he exercised until the outbreak of the First World War.

First World War

At the beginning of the war, Křitek commanded the 26th Rifle Division on the Eastern Front and took part in the offensive against Zamość at the end of August 1914 during the Battle of Komarów . At the beginning of September he was given command of the XVII. Corps that suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Rawa Ruska . On October 17, 1914, he was promoted to General of the Infantry . Within the 4th Army, his corps formed the northern flank during the battle of Limanowa-Lapanow (early December) and held its position against the Russian counter-attacks. After a reorganization, Křitek's corps took part in the winter fighting in the Carpathian Mountains as part of the 3rd Army , where his troops suffered very heavy losses in the battles around the Duklapass . Despite his success, he was not popular with his superiors or subordinates due to his rather bureaucratic and pedantic character. General Boroëvić's verdict on Křitek: “Not suitable for the next higher command”.

After the breakthrough in the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów in May 1915, the XVII. Corps returned under the command of the 4th Army and took part in the successful battles near Krasnik and Lublin . His corps played an important role in the autumn fighting on the Styr in 1915 , after which it was transferred to South Tyrol in 1916 and placed under the command of Kövess' 11th Army. There it should be used in the Trentino offensive against Italy. Despite some successes, Křitek could not achieve the goal set for him, the breakthrough in the plain. In autumn 1916 he was again placed under the command of Colonel General Boroëvić and took part in the 6th and 9th  Isonzo battles. This had now changed his judgment on Křitek and still considered him qualified for higher commands. After Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf also agreed with this judgment, he took over the leadership of the X. Corps on the Eastern Front.

On May 1, 1917 Křitek was appointed Colonel-General conveyed and received on July 12, succeeding Colonel General Tersztyánszky command of the 3rd Army . After the successful breakthrough of the Winckler army group near Zborow , he and the German southern army pushed the Russians back east and liberated Bukovina by early August 1917 . In January 1918 he took command of the 7th Army and took part with this in the further advance in Ukraine . On April 15, 1918, however, he was removed from his post and put up for disposition; this ended his career in the emperor's army.

After the collapse of the Danube Monarchy, Křitek withdrew from public life and died in Vienna in 1928. He is buried at the Ober Sankt Veiter Friedhof (group RG, no. 80).

Austrian military awards (as of December 31, 1918)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Křitek, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Colonel General of the Austro-Hungarian Army
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Split , Croatia
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1928
Place of death Vienna